Kemal KILICDAROGLU, Chairman of the Republican People’s Party and the Nation Alliance’s Presidential candidate in the May 14 elections, said that if they won the election, they would turn the closed Ataturk Airport into the center of aviation and space studies.

The airport, located at YESILKOY in Bakırköy district of Istanbul, was first opened for military purposes in the early 1900s under the name of the district, and then operated as an international airport since the 1950s.

However, with the opening of Istanbul Airport in October 2018, Ataturk Airport was also closed. The airport, whose runways have been dismantled, is used only for transportation of government officials, including the President, and foreign government people.

Reacting to this, KILICDAROGLU said in a video posted on his social media accounts, “They demolished the runways of such a place, they use other runways as a private airport for themselves. What a country, isn’t it? Kick out the people, seize the airport for yourself.”

SNC CORPORATION, EREN ÖZMEN & SPACE-TAXI PROJECT

In his video message on Twitter KILICDAROGLU also referred names such as Eren and Fatih Özmen (of Turkish origin) who live in USA and run a company called Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) which co-operates for Nasa in some space projects such as space-taxi project “Dream Chaser. CHP leader said Turkey would benefit from services / support of brains like this Turkish couple.

Nasa grants Turkish owned SNC US$ 212.5 m for space taxi project